'The Host': Cast and director Andrew Niccol say they're game for a sequel, chat about working with Stephenie Meyer

Sci-fi alien invasion flick The Host, based on the novel by Twilight author Stephenie Meyer, is still over a week away from its release date, but the talent behind the film are already saying they’d be up for making a sequel.

The Host, which centers on feisty Melanie Stryder, one of the few free humans left on Earth until she’s captured and inhabited by an alien parasite, had its world premiere in Los Angeles on Tuesday. At the event, writer-director Andrew Niccol (Gattaca) told EW that he’d be interested in making the big screen adaptation of Meyer’s in-the-works sequel to the 2008 novel. In fact, he seemed rather eager to get going on film No. 2: “Show me the book, Stephenie,” he joked. “You shouldn’t be here. You should be home writing.”

Luckily for dozens of fans who scored a spot along the premiere’s blue carpet, Meyer wasn’t at home writing. EW asked the best-seller author for an update on her follow-up to The Host, which she has said may end up becoming a trilogy.

“I’m working on the sequel,” she said at the premiere. “I don’t know if it’ll be a trilogy. It depends on if I get to an ending point. We’ll see where the story ends.”

The two guys in the movie’s love triangle (or love quadrangle, really – things get complicated when there’s both a human and an alien soul trapped in one body) also said they’d be on board for a sequel. Jake Abel, who plays Ian, the one who falls in love with the alien Wanderer inhabiting Melanie’s body, said he would “absolutely” want to make a sequel. “I hope enough people go see it and want to see another one because I know we all would love to [make another one],” he said. Max Irons, who plays Jared, Melanie’s love interest, said of the film’s cast and crew, “It’s a good team. I think the team would be coming back in its entirety. So I’d be game.”

Meyer herself was one integral part of that team. In addition to supplying the source material, she was one of the producers on the film, heavily involved in its development and production. Here’s what The Host’s talent said at the premiere about working with Meyer on the film:

Writer-director Andrew Niccol: “She’s such a beautiful collaborator. She really understands the process of filmmaking now. After going through the Twilight Saga movies, she understands that a novel is the work of one person, and a movie’s the work of 1,001 people. She had ideas, and she had opinions, but she wasn’t precious about them.”

Producer Roger Schwartz: “She was on set basically everyday, and she made a lot of executive decisions. We worked hand in glove with her [during] the whole process. She was really instrumental because we wanted to remain super faithful to the novel.”

Max Irons (Jared): “There were other casting rumors about who fans wanted to play Jared, so I remember on my first day, I was feeling very nervous, and I went up to Stephenie, and I said, ‘Am I getting Jared right? Do you have any tips?’ And she said, ‘Listen, we cast you for a reason. We trust your instincts. Go ahead and make Jared your own.’ So that took the pressure off.”

Saoirse Ronan (Melanie/Wanda): “Stephenie was very laid back and very relaxed about the whole thing. She’s very much used to film production after being in the Twilight world for so long. She gets it. She would never impose herself too much or anything, yet she was there if you needed to talk with her.”

Lee Hardee (Aaron): “She has an idea in her mind of what she wants these characters to be, so it’s great that she’s around and you can just ask her, ‘What is your vision for this scene and this character?’ It’s nice to have that resource. It’s little things [that she would have advice about], but it’s enough to make a difference, and it’s her vision so it matters.”

The Host opens in theaters on March 29. To learn what Abel thought of working with Meyer and for more on his experience making the film, check out EW’s Q&A with the actor.